Prefabricated wooden building



Feb. 26, 1957 1 BERGVALL ETAL 2,782,463

PREFABRICATED WOODEN BUILDING Filed May 1, 1951 WW E 6 5 O W m 15% H9 4% 2 a? PREFABRIQATED WGODEN BUKLDING Knut Lennart Bergvall and Ernst Erik Dahlberg, Stockholm, Sweden Application May 1, 1951, Serial No. 223,908

2 Claims. or. -2)

This application is a continuation-in-part of our copending application Ser. No. 590,530, filed on April 27, 1945, which was issued on December 18, 1951, as Patent No. 2,579,446, and then reissued on August 4, 1953, as Reissue No. 23,693.

The object of the present invention is to facilitate the erection of buildings from prefabricated building elements of the kind described in the above identified patent, and particularly to avoid the use of a plurality of nails, screws and the like to hold such elements together in a wall structure comprised thereof.

Another object is to secure accurate overall dimensions in. wall structures formed of such building elements in spite of the fact that the width of the prefabricated elements may vary slightly due to manufacturing inaccuracies or variations in temperature and humidity.

The invention is based upon the utilization of elements, which, as will be seen from the above identified patent, have a. cross-section which corresponds to the cross section of a box-beam produced by uniting two I-beam profiles with parallel webs. In order to prevent any misunderstanding it should be stated that in the following text this type of box-beam is called a flanged box-beam element, the parts thereof corresponding to the webs of the united l-beams being called webs, While the plates corresponding to the flanges of the I-beams are called flange plates. The expression flanges when appearing in the following text refers to the portions of the flange plates extending beyond the webs.

The building elements used in assembling a wall st1ucture in accordance with the present invention preferably have a flange plate width of about 8 inches and a thickness, perpendicular to the flange plates, which, in an outer wall structure, corresponds to the flange plate width but in the partition elements is only half as large. In relation to these dimensions the elements forming the Wall structure are of considerable length, for example, a length of about 8 feet. In view of the great number of joints formed in the wall'structure by the use of such slender elements, it is preferred to connect the box-beam elements in a special manner, so that they can easily be fixed in certain positions relative to each other. Steps must also be taken to prevent minor deviations in measure from being added together, as otherwise the advantages offered by the prefabricated elements would get lost to a certain degree,

ecause in such case special filling pieces and additional adjusting work would be necessary.

According to the invention the building elements are mounted, at least in the vertical walls, by the aid of special upper plates and lower sills extending in the longitudinal direction, said upper plates and lower sills preferably being placed or received between the flange plates at the ends of each building element or near one flange plate thereof. The upper plates and lower sills are made with the grain of the wood and provided in advance with transverse holes spaced from each other at distances exactly corresponding to the flange plate width of the individual elements. When erecting the wall structure of a building, the elements are each secured to the related 2,782,463 Patented Feb. 26, 1957 upper plate and lower sill by means of a single dowel, which is driven through one flange plate of the element at each end of the latter and which fits exactly into the hole of the upper plate or sill or by means of a dowel at each side of each end of the element. This attachment of each end of every element involves the considerable advantage, that the elements may shrink and swell independently of each other within reasonable and presumed limits without stresses arising in any place in the individual elements. It should be observed, that such a result is impossible to obtain by using one or more nails or screws driven through each end of the elements at random, and that it is of utmost importance that the clearance between two adjacent elements is. precisely calculated to meet the inherent movements of each element.

in order that the different elements in a Wall structure shall not slide relatively each other in the longitudinal directiona matter of special importance with concern to the outer walls of the building body, which are to absorb the wind forces acting upon the building-at least the outer wall elements according to the invention are provided with pins projecting from the flange edges and entering corresponding holes in the flange edges of the adjacent element, and as will appear later on, those of the pins which are provided on flanges having tongues for engagement in grooves of the flanges of an adjacent element extend beyond the tongues. The pins also contribute to make the mounting of the elements more precise and easy.

To the foregoing objects and others which may hereinafter appear, the invention consists of the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be more specifically referred to in the following text and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, but it is to be understood that changes, variations and modifications may be resorted to which fall within the scope of the invention as claimed.

The invention now will be described more in detail with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. l is an elevational view which is shortened in the vertical direction and shows a wall structure assembled in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary, enlarged sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. l; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing in detail, and initially to Fig. 1 thereof, it will be seen that a portion of a wooden building structure, as there illustrated, comprises vertically spaced apart floor structures ll and i2 and a wall structure therebetween which is generally identified by the reference numeral ltl.

At least the wall structure 16 is formed of a plurality of elongated, upstanding box-beam elements l3 arranged side-by-side and each having a length substantially equal to the vertical distance between the floor structures 11 and 12 respectively above and below the related Wall structure. "Preferabl each box-beam element 13 is constructed in the manner disclosed in the above identified patent and, accordingly, includes spaced apart, parallel flange plates 14 and 15 and webs l6 and 17 extending between the flange plates normal to the planes of the latter (Fig. 2).

When the elements 13 are disposed side-by-side in the wall structure, the longitudinal edges of the flange plates 14 and 15 of each element are in edge-to-edge relationship to the edges of the corresponding flange plates of the adjacent box-beam elements. In order to maintain the flange plates of each box-beam element flush with the flange plates of adjacent elements, each flange plate has a tongue 18 and a complementary groove 19 (Figs. 1 and 2) along the entire length of the opposite longitudinal edges thereof so that a tongue 18 of each element 13 will be received in a cooperating groove'19 of the next box-beam element of the wall structure."

Although the flanged box-beam elements can be united to form panels without difiiculty, thanks to the cooperatin'g'tongues 18"and grooves-1.9 at the longitudinally extending edges of the flange plates Blend 15, they might be displaced parallelly to each other in, the longitudinal direction if subjected to greater'stresses acting in unfavorable direction. Such unfavorable forces may act upon the verticalelements in the building walls on account of wind corresponding to the thickness'of the tongue 18 Said dowels extend beyond the tongue 18and are intended to' enter corresponding holes 21 in the bottom of the groove 19 in the flange plateof the adjacent element, when the elements are united into a wall structure. The dowels 20 received in holes 21 will elfectively. prevent the parallel displacement of the elements in the longitudinal direction and avoid the necessity of'using cross staysor the likein the wall structures. The dowels or projections 20 preferably fit loosely into the corresponding sockets or holes 21 so that, while relative longitudinal movement of the adjacent elements is prevented, the interengaging dowels 20 and holes 21 do not restrict the lateral expansion and contraction of the adjacent elements 13.

The webs of the outer wall element do not extend up to the upper ends of the flange plates 14 and 15, and thus a channel 22 (Fig. 3) is formed at the top end of the element which receives an upper plate 23 at the underside of the floor structure 11 resting upon the upper edge of the wall. In the corresponding manner a channel is provided between the flange plates'14 and at the lower end of the element, the latter channel also being obtained by reason of the fact that the webs 16 and 17 do not reach to the lower end edges of the flange plates 14 and 15 and is intended to receive a lower sill 24 resting on the floor structure 12 below the wall structure 10. The flange plates of each box-beam element 13 in the wall structure are formed with a single hole at the upper and lower ends thereof opening into the related end channel of the element and adapted to receive single dowels 25 and 26 at the upper and lower ends, respectively, of each element 13.

The upper plate 23 and the lower sill 24 are formed with suitably spaced apart bores 27 and 28, respectively, extending normal to the plane of the wall structure (Fig. 1) and adapted to receive the dowels 25 and 26 so that the upper plate 23 and the lower sill 24 thereby hold together the several box-beam elements 13 in parallel relationships.

Since the cooperating projections or dowels and sockets or holes 21 prevent relative sliding of adjacent elements 13 in the longitudinal or vertical direction and the upper plate 23 and lower sill 24, to which the elements are connected by the single dowels and 26, prevent lateral spreading apart of the elements 13, it is apparent that a rigid wall structure is thereby provided.

The single dowel connection between each end of each element 13 and the related upper-plate 23 or lower sill-24 ehrninates the possibility of cracking of the flange plates in the event that the latter expand or contract, which possibility would be very much in evidence in a case where the flange plates weresecured to theupper plate. 23 and lower sill .24 by means of several nailsor screws- Further, the distance betweenthe successive bores 27 and-28 in the plate 23 and sill 24,'respectively, is accurately determined in relation to th'ewidth of the flange plates 14 lateral-playin--the groove-19 of the -adjacentelement-inwhich it is received, and such lateral play permits the several elements to individually expand and contract in the lateral direction. Since the lengths of the upper plate 23 and the lower sill 24 will determine the overall horizontal dimension of the wall structure 10, it is apparent that there will be no addition of the expansion or contraction of the individual elements 13 to result in a large variation in such' overall horizontal dimension.

Although an illustrative embodiment of the invention has been described in detail herein with reference to the accompanying drawing, it'is to be understood-that the invention is not limited .to that precise embodiment and may be applied to external walls or interior partitions of a wooden building structure, and that various changes or modifications may be efiected in the described embodiment without-departingtromthe scope or spirit ofthe invention, except as defined in the appended claims.

We'claim:

1. In a wooden-building structure comprising vertically spaced floor structures and wall structures therebetween' with at leastsaid wall structures being formedof elongated and upstanding flanged box-beam elements arranged side-by-side and each having a length substantially equal to the distance between the floor structures above and below the related wall structure; the'combination of an upper plate at the underside of the floor structure above each' wall structure; a 'lower' sill resting on the floorstructure below each-wall structure, a single dowel carried by each of the upperand lower ends of each of the box-beam elements and extending normal to the plane of the related wall structure, said upper plate and lower sill having spaced bores therein receiving said dowels at the upper and lowerends, respectively, of the box-beam elements to hold the latterin parallel relationship, and cooperat ing means arrangedalong the adjacent longitudinal edges of"the successive box-beam elements and preventing relative longitudinal'movement of the latter, said cooperating means being separable in directions-lying in the plane of the related wall structure at'right angles to the longitudinalaxes of the related box-beam elements.

2; In a wooden building structure; the combination according to claim 1, wherein said cooperating means in- :cludesprojections extending from, and spaced" along, one.

References-Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 231,434 Maloney etal Aug. 24, 1880 1,087,011 Gram: Feb; 10, 1914 1,368,594 Aatilaa Feb. 15, 1921 1,421,124 Brandt June 27, 1922 1,444,554 Quillet' Feb. 6, 1923 2,065,433 Dercum et-al Dec. 22, 1936 2,129,441 Otto' Sept. 6,1938 2,140,772 Slayter-et al. Dec. 20, 1938 2,328,823: MacKenzie' Sept. 7, 1943 2,331,752 Wilson Oct. 12, 1943 2,336,435 Zirinsky' Dec. 7, 1943 2,407,004 Guig'non Sept. 31, 1946 2,498,411. Geib Feb. 21, 1950 2,579,446" Bergvall et a1; Dec. 18, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 545,147 GreatBritain 19.42 803,761 France- 1936 

